The Morecambe Winter Gardens (originally the Victoria Pavilion building- sometimes spelled Pavillion) is a music hall built in 1897. It is the surviving part of the Winter Gardens complex that originated with the building of the "People's Palace" or Oriental Ballroom, in 1878. These two glass-roofed buildings were known collectively as the Victoria Pavilion & the Oriental Ballroom and after the death of Queen Victoria they were renamed the Kings Pavilion & the Empress Ballroom.The Winter Gardens were very popular throughout the 20th century and in the 1930s they were extensively refurbished. However in the late 1960s/70s they fell into decline and the whole complex was closed in 1977. In 1982 the Ballroom was demolished, however the Pavilion building was bought in 2006 and a charitable trust was formed.

The Victoria Pavilion music hall was built to the designs of Mangnall and Littlewood, with Frank Matcham as consultant. Located on the main Morecambe promenade, the main elevation is an ornate, symmetrical composition in brick and terracotta. A big central gable with an elaborately scrolled outline decorates the rear wall of the auditorium and is flanked by projecting square towers with shaped gables. At ground level, the entrance is set between shopfronts.

Internally, the general form is Magnall and Littlewood's, although the design of the balconies and some other details may have been modified as a result of Matcham's involvement. The hall is very wide and covered by a vast segmental tunnel-vaulted ceiling which is divided into richly decorated panels. The curve of the ceiling embraces a huge tympanum above the proscenium and boxes, decorated at the sides with painted muses, etc. The proscenium is framed by coupled columns supporting an enriched entablature. A deep serpentine-fronted balcony returns along the side walls with five rows of seats. The upper (gallery) tier is set back and has shallow slips above the side promenades of the lower tier.

The Winter Gardens (recently known as Victoria Pavillion) is a music hall built in 1897 alongside the earlier glass-roofed Winter Gardens and Empress Ballroom, to the designs of Mangnall and Littlewood, with Frank Matcham as consultant. Sited on the seafront, the main elevation is an ornate, symmetrical composition in brick and terracotta. A big central gable with an elaborately scrolled outline expresses the rear wall of the auditorium and is flanked by projecting square towers with shaped gables. At ground level, the entrance is set between shopfronts. Internally, the general form is Magnall and Littlewood's, although the design of the balconies and some other details may have been modified as a result of Matcham's involvement. The hall is very wide and covered by a vast segmental tunnel-vaulted ceiling which is divided into richly decorated panels. The curve of the ceiling embraces a huge tympanum above the proscenium and boxes, decorated at the sides with painted muses, etc. The proscenium is framed by coupled columns supporting an enriched entablature. On either side are two tiers of paired boxes set in splayed pavilions against which the balconies terminate. A deep serpentine-fronted balcony returns along the side walls with five rows of seats. The upper (gallery) tier is set back and has shallow slips above the side promenades of the lower tier. The earliest part of the Winter Gardens complex, which opened in 1878, lay to the west of the surviving theatre and was demolished in 1982. [1-4]

The Morecambe Winter Gardens was originally built as The Victoria Pavilion theatre in 1897. It is situated on Morecambe's central promenade. The theatre closed in 1977 and the charity, The Friends of The Winter Gardens, formed in 1986, bought the building in 2006, forming a charitable trust, the Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust Limited. (5)

The Winter Gardens began in 1878 as the People's Palace and included baths, entertainment and an aquarium. Originally the building had an ornate glazed roof, which was later changed to slate. The building later became used as a ballroom and was doubled in size with the construction of the Victoria Pavilion along side it. The two buildings were known as the Victoria Pavilion and the Oriental Ballroom and after the death of Queen Victoria they were renamed the Kings Pavilion & the Empress Ballroom.

The Winter Gardens were very popular throughout the 20th century and in the 1930s they were extensively refurbished. In the 1950s the complex was taken over by Moss Empires, however decline set in the late 1960s70s. The whole complex closed in 1977 and in 1982 the original part of the Winter Gardens, the Ballroom, was demolished. (6)

The name Victoria Pavillion is some times given as "pavillion": the reason for this is this unusual spelling is featured on decorative tiles at the complex, possibly executed by a foreign worker. (7)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Lancaster, 20-JAN-1993 939-1

(2) John Earl and Michael Sell 2000 The Theatres Trust Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950 A Gazetteer